Any None-art background people here? Hello guys!

I've been a mostly silent DAZ, Bryce user for quite some time, I've bought all the bryce versions from 5 on up, until they became free (Glad I didn't buy 7 pro!). I also bought C6 pro and now upgraded to C8 after debating on spending the money. For me it's a debate because I cannot model things in 3d, I've tried but for me... Well, as someone else stated here a while back "It's about as fun as ripping the skin off my forearm with a scalpel". lol. I've looked around for that thread and can't find it again. lol. That user sounds a lot like myself.

My total use of this software boils down to making renders for my personal amusement, and desktop wallpapers. I certainly wouldn't be able to sell any of them.

I mostly work with models I buy on here, I've spent a lot of money on the store here for Carrara and Bryce (Before they started giving them away for free, With the exception of Carrara, which is understandable. It'd be crazy to give out Carrara for free). Mostly I do it just for fun, and because it's been something I've been interested in for quite some time, more specifically: Since I first booted up and played Myst. I remember watching it's "making of" series and watching them make grayscale maps of the landscapes, since then I've been fascinated with landscape generation.

I never had any other interest in art. I cannot draw on paper to save my life! Even stick figures come out deformed, lol. But when I work with models on here, it seems different... I'm not working with a 2d flat piece of paper, Instead I'm looking at a 3 dimensional object, reminds me of this stupid sculpting class I had in college (I have an AS in computer networking, I didn't and still don't understand why I had that 1 art class that had nothing to do with networking or computer security systems. lol). I rather enjoyed the sculpting class though, I could actually make some cool models by scraping away layers and creating something. To me: This software reminds me a lot of that: Sculpting primitives into shapes. Only here, luckily, my shaky hands are remedied by the computer to make straight lines, etc.

So anyways I just wanted to introduce myself, and see how many others are out there who use any of DAZ's software for personal use, or just for kicks. I find it quite interesting and it's given me a HUGE new respect for games like the Final Fantasy series (movie scenes, like those in FF XIII and Xiii-2), movies like Shrek, monsters inc. Now that I've had a very very very tiny taste of the complexities that are involved with making digital art; those kinds of games/animated movies seem mind boggling to me! Not to mention the hardware requirements to render that kind of stuff would take. I've got several scenes made with the "secret lake" scene I bought for Carrara and can't even render a draft version of it, lol. Last I attempted to do so had around 12 a hour render. And yet there are movie studios out there and game devs making those types of products as if they're nothing, lol "just another day at work".

I've since been posting questions on the forums and "taking a risk" posting my newb questions and etc. People here seem quite friendly and helpful! So I've decided over the last week or so to get involved on the forums, and it's helped a LOT! :) So I'm finally taking the time to drop by and say hello!

Comments

Hello revenger! Great to see another Bryce user!:) And it's always interesting to hear how others started in 3D. I'm not from an art background , that is I've always loved art but have no formal training. I started using DS and Bryce for fun, to create my own images, and I love the flexibility and speed of being able to do that compare to 'traditional' mediums. I then took a step and started creating textures to sell here at DAZ - I would have never imagined that! So you never know where what you do may take you. The most important thing I think is to have fun. Most folk are very friendly and helpful here so don't hesitate to post if you need help with anything.

to answer you opening question...Yep and hello revenger681. Check out my sig for my Render thread no point in retyping my story. ;)

I too was inspired by Myst, Riven, End of Ages, Myst Online Uru Live and the 3 Myst books and it was getting Bryce to help with making new ages for the now Open Sourced Myst Online Uru Live Agian (MOULa) that I found myself here. Nope still no new ages made but we do have plans for some in the future.

Howdy!! And my answer is nope, I had formal training when I was much younger but went another way with my life. I'm now a 3D hobbyist because I love 3D and I can no longer manage traditional art, my hands will not let me.

Welcome! I'm another never-had-art-training person, who always admired people who could actually draw stick figures. You can sculpt -- that puts you ahead of me! Professionally I'm trained in Economics, Management, and Computers; my hobby is writing, and I came across DAZ 3D looking for some way to create images of the characters in my novels. It was mind-boggling to me to be able to start using DAZ Studio and being able to do something which had been impossible for me right off the bat.

Szark, I spent a good long time looking at the links in your signature and the forum threads, You are an incredible artist and a true inspiration! Funny thing is: except for Photoshop (I use GIMP, but never for enhancing photos), I have all the uber lights and most of the other stuff you mention in your contest renders.... After seeing that old thread I've realized I really need to study the documentation for those light sets, I had no idea they could create renders like that! Especially not DAZ. DS is one program I hate the most. All my clothing, most my hair, and all my skin always looks like plastic. I've read and re-read the documentation many times, but the language in there is still somewhat foreign to me. As my slow-wit tries to grab the concept of how these lights interact with the scene I'm sure I'll get the hang of it. lol. Eventually.

I always pose, position, and texture in DS, then send to Bryce. Over the last 2 wks I've finally decided: "Heck, I spent over $400 on Carrara, probably closer to $600.00 all together for textures, hdri maps, and hair, I might as well finally learn to use it more". Therefore for the first time ever I've began building things in it and trying to re-make old bryce renders in Carrara. I've been learning that my lighting is god aweful in most instances and that's where I need to focus the most. C8 has been a lot of fun for me since It's the one I've spent a LOT of time learning with but it's also quite frustrating. Constantly I get memory allocation errors, "Unable to save" errors, and etc. I feel that 8.5 standard should be a FREE update for those of us who paid for C6 and C7. It's just not stable, and while I understand I'm not buying some $3,100 program like Studio Max, $275.00 is still a lot of cash! Since learning a bit more with Carrara it has in-turn helped my bryce experience by generating exact geometry for my mountains, and other objects in the model editor. And Bryce has helped me with Carrara by converting images into HDR's.

Howdy!! And my answer is nope, I had formal training when I was much younger but went another way with my life. I’m now a 3D hobbyist because I love 3D and I can no longer manage traditional art, my hands will not let me.
Hey Jaderail! I've heard stories like yours before, it's interesting how these tools can help people accomplish things that they would not be able to otherwise accomplish, whether it be physical or lack of experience.

Welcome! I’m another never-had-art-training person, who always admired people who could actually draw stick figures. You can sculpt—that puts you ahead of me! Professionally I’m trained in Economics, Management, and Computers; my hobby is writing, and I came across DAZ 3D looking for some way to create images of the characters in my novels. It was mind-boggling to me to be able to start using DAZ Studio and being able to do something which had been impossible for me right off the bat.

Hey Fixmypcmike!
lol, that's quite funny admiring stick figures. Must be like the one's Here. It's intersting books got you into this kind of work. I've considered making martial arts stuff for my teacher's handouts. He's got very rough sketches of the forms we perform, as well as weapon sets... I've considered making poses and etc for them as a free gift. Maybe it's something I'll consider someday.

Hello revenger! Great to see another Bryce user!:) And it’s always interesting to hear how others started in 3D. I’m not from an art background , that is I’ve always loved art but have no formal training. I started using DS and Bryce for fun, to create my own images, and I love the flexibility and speed of being able to do that compare to ‘traditional’ mediums. I then took a step and started creating textures to sell here at DAZ - I would have never imagined that! So you never know where what you do may take you. The most important thing I think is to have fun. Most folk are very friendly and helpful here so don’t hesitate to post if you need help with anything.

Eve1: That is awesome! Texturing from scratch is still something that escapes me! I did bookmark your signature though, some good info on it, as there are with everyone else's signatures.

Great stories on here! And good to know I'm not quite as out of place on here as I thought "With all you artsy guys & gals" :)

I'm not a hobbyist, I'm a seller of Genesis clothing, but I do come from a non-art background.

My only degrees are in Biology and Chemistry. You see, I thought I was going to be a doctor. Fortunately no one would admit me to a school, probably because the interview committees were smarter than I was about recognizing that I am not good with "stress" or "sleep deprivation" or "other people." :D

I started to teach myself 3d as an escapist hobby while working as a temp, and then realized that a. I liked it MUCH more than temping and b. it could eventually pay better. I worked part-time while I built up my Rendo store and taught myself to rig in Poser 6, which was cheapest at the time. I started building my own computers from parts bought online during this time as well, because you can get so much more hardware for your money than buying assembled.

A friend taught me most of what I know about Blender. Everything else I taught myself from online documentation and tutorials and a great deal of flailing about to fill in the gaps.

A traditional artist would laugh him or herself silly at the concept sketches I do when I'm brainstorming products, but it works for me. ;) I try to pick up more traditional skills as I go along, as there are more and more online resources for that too (even a person who can't draw can learn about composition, shading and lighting).

Hi fixmypcmike! I see we have some things in common. I also never had any art training and I am trained in Economics (but not Management or Computers), my hobby is writing too and I picked DS to create images of the characters in my writings (nothing published yet). Making pictures of the characters helps me to better flesh out their background story and find new ideas for the plot. My drawing skills are better than just stick figures level, but nothing to pride myself with either. I am still a beginner, as I found my way into 3D only recently, and because I have a full time job, while also attending college, I don´t have much time to learn using DS. But I plan delving into it as soon as I finish my studies, which should be hopefully not "DAZ soon".

I'm not a hobbyist, I'm a seller of Genesis clothing, but I do come from a non-art background.

My only degrees are in Biology and Chemistry. You see, I thought I was going to be a doctor. Fortunately no one would admit me to a school, probably because the interview committees were smarter than I was about recognizing that I am not good with "stress" or "sleep deprivation" or "other people." :D

I started to teach myself 3d as an escapist hobby while working as a temp, and then realized that a. I liked it MUCH more than temping and b. it could eventually pay better. I worked part-time while I built up my Rendo store and taught myself to rig in Poser 6, which was cheapest at the time. I started building my own computers from parts bought online during this time as well, because you can get so much more hardware for your money than buying assembled.

A friend taught me most of what I know about Blender. Everything else I taught myself from online documentation and tutorials and a great deal of flailing about to fill in the gaps.

A traditional artist would laugh him or herself silly at the concept sketches I do when I'm brainstorming products, but it works for me. ;) I try to pick up more traditional skills as I go along, as there are more and more online resources for that too (even a person who can't draw can learn about composition, shading and lighting).

A seller huh? That's cool. There seems to be a lot of ways to turn this kind of thing into a little side-job to make some cash out of. I was wondering what you could do with it. I find it interesting a lot of you guys are making some money now, with something that you just studied over time, or didn't originally plan to do. I know what ya mean by building it yourself, I never buy a pre-built computer, I like to know exactly what's in my box and to have control of what I'm using.

Blender is one program I'm REALLY unfamiliar with, I toy with it from time to time (mostly to use Lux Render). Eventually I will try and use it a bit more often.

Blender is a bit of a steep learning curve, and hardly anything in it is intuitive. If you can make it work for you it can be very rewarding, as it has some features that only the biggest suites (like Max and Maya) share, but you're going to want the Blenderwiki and BlenderCookie close to hand.

And just to be clear, this is not a side job. This is what I do. ;) I'm not getting rich, and I wouldn't try to raise kids on what I'm getting now, but for a single person or a two-income couple it's just fine. It took me two years to get here, of course. It took all of the first year for my family to stop trying to send me Craigslist job postings. :D

I do hope to add a revenue stream from my own writing projects and use the program illustratively, like the other two above. DS4 is a very powerful tool for visualizing unique characters.

Blender is a bit of a steep learning curve, and hardly anything in it is intuitive. If you can make it work for you it can be very rewarding, as it has some features that only the biggest suites (like Max and Maya) share, but you're going to want the Blenderwiki and BlenderCookie close to hand.

And just to be clear, this is not a side job. This is what I do. ;) I'm not getting rich, and I wouldn't try to raise kids on what I'm getting now, but for a single person or a two-income couple it's just fine. It took me two years to get here, of course. It took all of the first year for my family to stop trying to send me Craigslist job postings. :D

I do hope to add a revenue stream from my own writing projects and use the program illustratively, like the other two above. DS4 is a very powerful tool for visualizing unique characters.

Ah, ok. Thanks for the input, I've been curious as to how well someone can do (realistically speaking) with these types of things. I know exceptions would be those who are lucky enough to win a big project or contract for some company, but for the average worker: I was curious as to how they get started and avg. income (without being too nosy about it).

It sounds like the 2 years were worth it! It'd be great to do something you enjoy, and as I figure with texturing, or selling things at places like DAZ, Renderocity or other places I assume you could do it at home. I've got ideas, mostly poses related to exotic martial arts and etc. Not sure if there's even a market for that. I've seen sites like MostDigitalCreations handing out poses by the hundreds. heh.

Welcome, Revenger! I'm an electrical engineer. Ever seen that Dilbert cartoon about Doomed to be an Engineer? That's me. :lol: Art? What's that? Actually, there are art genes in my family, but it skipped my generation. My father did oil paintings and wood carvings, and my oldest daughter just got a BFA in Illustration! I'm the type who's not afraid to go hand edit a .pp2 file to fix a prop that doesn't work right, or even set up a Linux box for renders, but I struggle with parts of this hobby. This is definitely a hobby for me. The mechanics of posing and setting up scenes was pretty straightforward for me, but real composition and lighting I lack expertise. I've learned a lot in new user contests, but I don't think I'll enter those anymore. I have gotten some very helpful info from real artists here and elsewhere on composition and lighting. I've got Blender, but haven't installed it yet. Made some simple props using Daz Studio, but there are limits on what you can do with that. Cheers.

Blender is a bit of a steep learning curve, and hardly anything in it is intuitive. If you can make it work for you it can be very rewarding, as it has some features that only the biggest suites (like Max and Maya) share, but you're going to want the Blenderwiki and BlenderCookie close to hand.

And just to be clear, this is not a side job. This is what I do. ;) I'm not getting rich, and I wouldn't try to raise kids on what I'm getting now, but for a single person or a two-income couple it's just fine. It took me two years to get here, of course. It took all of the first year for my family to stop trying to send me Craigslist job postings. :D

I do hope to add a revenue stream from my own writing projects and use the program illustratively, like the other two above. DS4 is a very powerful tool for visualizing unique characters.

Ah, ok. Thanks for the input, I've been curious as to how well someone can do (realistically speaking) with these types of things. I know exceptions would be those who are lucky enough to win a big project or contract for some company, but for the average worker: I was curious as to how they get started and avg. income (without being too nosy about it).

It sounds like the 2 years were worth it! It'd be great to do something you enjoy, and as I figure with texturing, or selling things at places like DAZ, Renderocity or other places I assume you could do it at home. I've got ideas, mostly poses related to exotic martial arts and etc. Not sure if there's even a market for that. I've seen sites like MostDigitalCreations handing out poses by the hundreds. heh.

Very worth it. I love this job, and I never want to work for a boss again. I do the occasional commission, but that's not at all the same thing. I do work from home and my bedroom is also my office. If you can be productive this way it's the best, because you lose no time or money on commuting (a major thing in the metroplex where I live).

Realistic posing is somewhat difficult with any figure, but if you can manage it, there's a market. Realistic martial arts poses in particular are lacking, probably because of the difficulty in making them with any verisimilitude. You can get a good idea what poses usually go for both here and at Renderosity (there's less of a price gap between the sites than with other items). The important thing to know is that you might not be able to charge a lot per item for a good pose pack, but you can sell TONS of copies.